Cruel Posession
by momentofbored
Summary: Starts at the end of NFA... Spike Shanshus and Angel leaves. Evil should be gone, but five years later Angel reappears in Spike and Buffy's lives, and they all face the fact that it's not as gone as they hoped. Bangel and Spuffy...
1. Chapter 1: How These Things Work

Spike looked around the alley nervously before turning to Angel, trying to remain calm in the face of thousands of rapidly approaching, clearly blood-thirsty demons of all sorts. "In terms of a plan?" he inquired rapidly.

"We fight," Angel said with his typical stoic calm and for the first time Spike fully realized that the man did have a death wish tonight for some reason he himself could not fully understand-

"Be more specific," he requested sharply,

"Well, personally," Angel quipped, as the demons continued to approach, "I kind of want to slay the dragon."

"Well, DAMN!" they heard an almost callous voice behind them and both men whirled, astonished to seen Buffy surrounded by thousands of other slayers. "Leave it to you to steal my one remaining dream."

"Buffy?" Angel gasped in disbelief and she smiled slightly bitterly, spitting the words

"Hello, _lover_," more viciously than he would have dreamed possible with a toss of her head before she quipped dryly. "All that time spent stalking me through Italy and you couldn't even bother to let me know the apocalypse was coming? I can't TELL you how flattered I am."

"Heard you were retired," Angel muttered and she rolled her eyes.

"You heard right. Unfortunately, that plan didn't account for the fact that, as usual, I need to save your unworthy ass.

"Now, pet," Spike tried, almost too stunned to speak, shocked when she shot him an equally withering glance.

"Why yes, Buffy, I am alive," she shot out sarcastically, doing an extremely mediocre job of imitating a British accent as her eyes flashed, "how nice of you to notice." She sighed before continuing in a high pitched, breathy whisper, "Why Spike! How long have you been back?" She frowned, switching back into the British accent. "Don't rightly know, pet. Almost a year, I reckon-" She dropped the act, hefting a broadsword dangerously close to his head, as she muttered, "I sure can pick 'em," and Faith let out a slightly alarmed,

"Uh- B? I think we have bigger fish to fry," from somewhere in the throng, relieved when Buffy retorted,

"My thoughts exactly," and leapt forward, cleanly slicing off the dragon's head.

--

Buffy relished the fight in a way she hadn't in years- the way it forced her not to think about her mental pain as she sought to avoid physical harm, the simple pleasure of being able to do one thing right even if her personal life would always be falling to pieces. She had finally been forced to admit to herself, halfway through the plane ride from Italy, sometime after she stopped crying and before she found the self-righteous anger that would carry her through, no matter how manufactured and fake it might be, that she had to have the worst choice in romantic partners of anyone _ever_ in the history of the world.

When Wesley had called her she had been wary, then disbelieving, before realizing that everything he was saying was too insane to possibly be a lie. Even knowing she had ultimately been the one to distance herself from Angel, she had been stunned and hurt by the magnitude of all she did not know- and her pride had barely survived the blow that he was dating an art student even younger than she was- news of which was immediately followed by a casual mention of Spike. She hadn't believed he was alive until Andrew had confirmed a visit that occurred 'a few weeks ago', which he happened to have 'forgotten', and Buffy had decided the only possible explanation was that her ex-lovers had paid him for his silence. She had only narrowly resisted an impulse to give him a concussion before she had stormed from her apartment, not even remembering to leave a note for Dawn.

She viciously slammed her fist into a demons face before being knocked to the ground, and she wheeled around to attack whoever had done it before realizing that it was Angel on top of her. "What do you think-" she snapped before noticing a knife embedded in the alley wall at approximately the level her head had been at previously. She shoved him off her with a reluctant but sincere, "Thank you," and yanked the knife out of the wall, using it to smoothly stab the nearest demon in the heart with a look resembling disgust on her face.

"Least I could do, considering that you're 'saving my unworthy ass'," he grunted, holding a demon immobilized so that she could get a clear shot at it, and despite herself she shot him a smile as she rendered the demon unconscious.

"How've you been?" she questioned, anger lessening as she turned from him to take on another demon, and he shrugged as he punched one himself.

"Can't complain." He paused to contemplate. "Well, actually-"

"Well, look on the bright side," she chirped, ducking to avoid a particularly vicious punch, "After this we never need to worry about evil again."

"Is it wrong if that sounds too good to be true?" he questioned as he snapped a demon's neck, and she let out a small giggle, suddenly sounding a lot more like the girl he had known so long ago.

"No worries. I'm sure you'll find some juvenile delinquent punks whose souls need saving. After all," she continued, shooting him her trademark grin before doing a pretty dead on impersonation of his tone, "souls are important no matter who they may belong to-"

"You think my work is a joke?" he questioned in disbelief, trying to feel anger to disguise his hurt and her face sobered even as she engaged another demon.

"No. I never did. You know better than that," she replied coldly, diving to avoid a machete before adding softly, "Anyway, I hope you do." She leapt to her feet before amending, "Now, if you were asking me if I think you take yourself a little too seriously, that'd be a different question."

"What do you know about me?" he demanded angrily, surprised as her face grew cold and she said with finality,

"Nothing. You made sure of that," before shoving him out of the way of a demon who had been aiming a makeshift stake at his heart. "But behold the irony," she quipped before grabbing a sword off the ground and shoving it through the demon's heart, "I still care if you die."

"Guess that's mutual," he near growled, slipping into his game face as one of the demons slashed his arm with its claws and she kicked it away from him before jumping over a dumpster to consult with Faith, looking slightly nervous and putting Angel on edge as he warily turned to face another opponent.

--

It was hours later before the battle finally started to show signs of nearing its conclusion, and Spike grimaced as he looked around him at the people still fighting the handful of demons who remained. His gaze locked on Buffy before he could stop himself, as she threw herself fearlessly into what remained of the throng and attacked what could only be described as a human snake, barely flinching as it wrapped around her leg before she split it cleanly in two. Her eyes met his for half a second and he puzzled over the look that he saw there for longer than he should have as he felt himself being knocked off his feet by a particularly vicious chaos demon. He struggled to throw it off himself, stunned when it collapsed as dead weight on top of him and he saw that Angel was responsible for its demise.

"Thanks for the save," he said, rolling out from under it, surprised as his grandsire offered him a hand up.

"Much as it scares me to say this," Angel said slowly, "I think it's over."

"Don't say that, you bloody git!" Spike snapped, diving as another demon came toward him and, missing its target, butted its head into the alley wall so hard it split its skull. "That's always what someone says right before something- ahhhhhh!" he suddenly screamed in pain to everyone's amazement as Faith made the final kill of the night, thrusting a steel sword through a zombie's heart. As they looked on in amazement he was lifted into the sky, yellow light emanating all around him. Angel felt rather than heard Buffy come up beside him as she began to question slowly,

"Angel?" for the second time that night sounding all of sixteen years old to him, "What's going on?"

"I-don't know," he replied thickly, even as the word _Shanshu_ beat against his chest, threatening to choke him.

"Oh God," she whispered and he caught her as her knees buckled, wondering how she had realized what was going on before she whispered, "He's dying and it's my fault."

"Um, B," Faith offered tentatively, taking a small step toward her, "I think all of us would need to say that the only reason anyone standing here is still alive is because Wesley called you-"

"Oh God," she whispered again, looking like she was going to throw up, and Angel wondered for the millionth time in the eight years he had known her how she could manage to be so fearless at one moment and intensely fragile at the next. "I DIDN'T MEAN IT!" she screamed in vain at Spike's immobilized body as it elevated higher. "I FORGIVE YOU FOR EVERYTHING!" before a few silent tears made their way down her cheek. Within seconds, though, she had pulled herself together enough to turn on Angel, enquiring snappily, "Well, aren't you going to die too? Clearly he's going to burst into flames at any second- what makes you so special?" She looked suddenly fearful at what she had just said, blurting, "Oh God. If you do, I didn't mean anything I said to you either," before adding with a defiant lift of her chin, "But if you survive, I did."

Under different circumstances he would have smiled at her indulgently, trying not to laugh at how young she still was, possibly would always be, but that was a whole other world and-

Suddenly Spike's eyes flashed open and he crashed brutally down to the ground, gasping for breath, and to Angel's shock Buffy burst forward toward him, sliding down to her knees before punching him hard across the face.

"How DARE you?" she ranted. "I thought you were dying and instead it was just some-" she seemed to search for a word before sputtering, "Some… cheap magic trick? DAMN it Spike, I can't DO this anymore-"

"Pet," he croaked weakly, "We need to talk, but first- could you please promise not to hit me again?"

"Why? she asked suspiciously and he met her eyes slowly.

"Because I'm human and it kind of hurt," he replied simply.

Angel watched at least twenty five different, individual emotions flash across Buffy's face almost simultaneously, and he felt as though his own heart was breaking as she whispered,

"What- how- Spike-" on what could only be described as a throaty sob, reaching out a shaking hand and pressing it against where Angel knew a heart must now be beating. The fact was driven home as Buffy's eyes fluttered backward and then shut, and Spike reached out a hand to steady her, evidently fearful that she might faint, a fear a few of her fellow slayers evidently shared as they took steps toward her, looking ready to catch her if she fell.

"Oh my god," she whispered slowly, then again, louder, as she opened her eyes once more, "Oh my god."

And then she was sobbing, large, silent sobs, hitting Spike's chest weakly as she ranted, "You could have called me, why didn't you call me? It hurt so bad when you died, and I wondered so much what I could have done better so you wouldn't have to- why didn't you call me?"

With sincere affection Angel wouldn't have thought he possessed, Spike gently reached out a hand, whispering hoarsely, "I was ashamed. I know I'm not worthy of you-"

And in that moment, as Buffy collapsed forward into Spike's waiting arms, weeping something that sounded like "I hate you," even as she clung to him, Angel really believed for the first time what she had said to him when he had come to Sunnydale and smelt his childe on her- Spike was in her heart. He had been then and he still was now- and much as it might kill him he needed to let go. He took one last look at Buffy, who was still crying, at Spike who was speaking earnestly, too softly for even his supernatural hearing to pick up the words, and allowed himself for one brief second to wonder how the scene might have played if he had been the one granted the gift of Shanshu. The pain was almost enough to kill him, though, and he walked off into the early morning darkness, oblivious to Faith's concerned cry of,

"Angel!" as it echoed behind him.

--

As Spike continued to talk softly, using words she was sure she wasn't hearing correctly… something about Shangshu and humanity, prophesies and apocalypse- Buffy felt something shift inside herself, feeling somehow correct for the first time in years. Suddenly there was no fear, only hope, and a sense that this must be her cosmic destiny, that she would be a fool not to embrace what was so clearly a gift- assuming the man in question wanted to share it-

Thoughts of the Immortal flashed briefly through her mind, but he had been forgotten the second Wesley had called her earlier and she knew she would be a fool to deny that to herself-

And then, more sharply, thoughts of another vampire with a soul, one who had evidently not earned his humanity _I really will need to ask Giles how the hell they figure these things sometime_ cruelly intruded and were harder to push away, and she looked behind her to see how he had fared, surprised to find her gaze met only by Faith, who seemed to understand the unspoken question in her eyes, shrugging and making a motion with her hands that could only indicate that she had no idea where Angel had gone-

"Buffy?" Spike asked uncertainly and she whipped back around to face him, offering him a gentle smile.

"Sorry," she said softly and his gaze softened as he looked at her with unspeakable tenderness before beginning softly,

"I know I could never deserve you, and I know that I'm only a man but- I was a good man once and I think I could be again-" he sighed in frustration, running a hand through his hair before taking her hand and amending, "I think I WILL be again- and I was hoping that- if you wanted to-"

Buffy nodded slowly, meeting his eyes. "I want to," she whispered, awed by the look of joy that overtook his face as he crushed her to him.

"Pet, you've made me the happiest-" he began, then let out an incredulous laugh, "man alive," he finished joyfully, standing up and spinning her around, and she spared one last thought for Angel before the sun began to come up and she saw Spike's face bathed in sunlight, effectively eliminating anything but wonder.

--

5 Years Later

"Summers and Spike Law Firm. We help the-" Harmony began before being shot a warning look by her boss. "How can I help you," she amended heavily and he shot her his trademark smirk as she pressed a button, connecting the caller to the appropriate party.

"Remind me why we keep her around?" Buffy questioned, coming up and gently kissing her husband on the lips as Harmony nervously babbled-

"Um- Mrs. Spike, I really do appreciate-"

"Harmony," William began slowly, "We've been over this. Buffy didn't actually take my name when we got married. We had a conversation and decided that if it sounded ridiculous that I was going by the name 'William Spike' imagine how 'Buffy Spike' would sound, and so she decided to keep with 'Summers'. Do you remember this at all, or were you too busy painting your nails?"

"I'm sorry. I remember. I mean, I forgot, but now I remember," she blurted. "Sorry. Bosses. It won't happen again."

"And I'm still not remembering why we keep her around," Buffy contemplated with a teasing gleam in her eye even as William put an arm around her waist, squeezing gently as he whispered,

"Wear your skirt any shorter and you're going to need to give me a public demonstration of why I keep you around," causing her to flush as she whispered,

"I though I presented some pretty convincing evidence this morning," under her breath as they walked toward the back of the office together, and he gave her waist another squeeze as they were about to diverge, smiling,

"I take it we're still on for tonight then?" pleased when she got redder.

"Do I really need-" she began before he cut her off, saying sharply,

"Dinner? Then the Opera?" fighting the urge to smirk at her abashed look.

"Oh. That," she said sheepishly before smiling. "That would also be a yes. Wouldn't miss it."

He leaned forward to kiss her just as they heard the sound of glass shattering toward the front of the office, followed by Harmony's screams and she jerked backward, looking confused.

"What the hell-" he began even as she dropped the files she had been holding and rushed back toward the front of the office.

Buffy surveyed the situation in one all-encompassing glance, flinching at the damage that had been inflicted on the glass doors leading to the office.

"Ohmigod!" Harmony continued to scream. "Please, Mrs. Sp-ummers! Don't invite him in! He wants to kill me! Any second now he'll start telling you lies about how I betrayed him-"

"Invite me in," came a slightly desperate voice over Harmony's vehement protests, and for the first time in five years Buffy had no idea what to do as she weakly questioned,

"Angel?"

--

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	2. Chapter 2: Rock Paper Scissors

Buffy blinked rapidly, trying without success to make sense of the scene in front of her even as she took a tentative step forward, meeting her ex-lover's eyes with a calm and ice cold, "Angel. Long time, no see."

"Oh God," Harmony continued to whine, and Buffy sent her a warning look, snapping,

"Oh SHUT UP," disgustedly before turning back to Angel, appraising him carefully.

"Actually," she amended in the same unnaturally cool tone, "It would probably be better to say long time, no hear. Kind of thought you were dead."

"Thought or hoped?" he questioned sharply and she recoiled as though slapped before replying, voice hard,

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response." She shook her head, seeming to contemplate before adding, "Or maybe I am. I regret how we left it. I've been regretting it for five years. Which you would have known if you'd bothered to stick around for, I don't know, five _seconds_ after the apocalypse had ended, but of course-"

"I'd seen enough," he cut her off, his own tone cold to hide the agony he'd been living with for the five years she so flippantly sited, five years he knew she'd spent with Spike, a fact that was attested to by the almost blindingly large diamond ring on her left hand. She shot him a sarcastic smile, opening her mouth to reply but prevented as Faith burst into the lobby, asking in an annoyed tone,

"B, what is going ON out-" before growing silent at the sight of the scene in front of her. "Well," she said after a beat, surveying the broken glass on the floor and the shattered remains of the door, "I always did say those doors were an accident waiting to happen."

The bitterness faded from Buffy's gaze and a small, concerned frown took its place as she looked around her, noticing for the first time the fearful faces of her employees, who looked, if possible, even more confused than she felt.

"Um- this is a drill," Buffy blurted, improvising wildly in a way she hadn't since trying to explain where she had been to her mother back in high school, blurting out the first excuse that came to mind, heedless of how probable it might or might not seem. "A- violence drill. Since, you know- violence sometimes occurs. The- correct procedure is for everyone to go to the back of the office while I wait for authorities to come and- uh, apprehend!" she exclaimed triumphantly, even as she started to push them back toward the rear of the office. "Just- be calm, it's only a drill."

She sighed in relief as they went, scowling at Faith's amused look as she started to follow them toward the back of the office.

"Faith stay!" Buffy said a bit desperately. "I think-"

"It's not a social call," Angel confirmed from the doorway as the last of the workers disappeared, more surprised than he should have been when Buffy just nodded resignedly, seeming to lack the will to snap at him anymore as she admitted reluctantly,

"Yeah, well, whatever my opinion of you is, I didn't think you shattered my office doors just to see the look on my face." She felt more relieved than she was willing to admith that she wasn't going to need to face him alone after all this time as Faith stepped forward to stand beside her, offering silent and much needed support through a slightly painful pause.

Unable to deal with the awkwardness, Faith finally questioned bluntly, "Is he evil?" surprised when Buffy only shrugged.

"Don't think so," the blonde mused slowly slowly, biting her lip, and it surprised Angel how much it hurt that she wasn't sure, even though there was no earthly reason that she really should be-

"I'm not," he confirmed softly, trying to keep the slight note of pain from his voice and surprised when both girls just rolled their eyes.

"It's been a while, but even I remember that evil things don't usually admit that they're evil," Faith smiled ironically.

"I do think that's partly because evil things usually don't think they're evil, though, if we're being fair," Buffy mused, to Angel's amazement seeming to forget that he was even there- a fact that was quickly remedied by Spike's voice sounding from the doorway behind Faith and Buffy.

"That's not Angelus," he stated definitively, and Angel had never felt more grateful to toward him in his life than in the moment before Spike continued, "Angelus would never let himself look so pathetically confused. That's an Angel face alright-"

"Thanks, honey," Buffy chirped without turning around, and Angel felt his heart twist painfully at the slight smile that accompanied the words before she turned her focus fully back to him. "So- if you aren't evil- what's with the shattered doors?"

"Well, they wouldn't have shattered if I'd been able to get in," Angel snapped in exasperation, taking an angry and unconscious step forward and cringing as his way was blocked again even as Spike offered slowly,

"See, this is the part I'm not getting. You've been bloody awful about keeping in touch all these years- not that I'm complaining-"

"I'm here now because demons are following me and I need help," Angel snapped, losing patience. "Now can I come in or-"

"Hrmmm. Is it up to me?" Spike enquired, teasing look on his face, and Angel gasped despite himself as he saw the man for the first time. Gone was the bleached blonde hair and obscene amount of gel, replaced with wavy brown locks similar to those he had possessed when Angel had given Drusilla permission to turn him. His face, while not drastically altered, had matured slightly, and a few laugh lines he hadn't possessed during the hundred years Angel had known him had surfaced, lending his face a more adult look, somehow making him objectively more attractive- and Angel blinked as Buffy turned toward her husband, holding up a hand and saying softly, imploringly,

"Will-"

"Will?" Angel enquired disbelievingly from the doorway, futher flabbergasted when the teasing look faded from Spikes face and he conceded,

"You're right, now isn't the time," as Buffy turned back toward Angel with a sigh, saying slowly,

"Okay. Come in."

"Thank you," he said briefly as Harmony came bursting back into the lobby, saying breathlessly,

"Mr. Spike, everyone wants to know what's going on and- oh god! You let him in? Please protect me-"

"Angel," Buffy said slowly, a teasing gleam that he couldn't understand in her eye, "Are you in any way here to kill Harmony?"

He blinked at her in confusion. "No. Why would I-"

"Pity," she quipped dryly. "I was just telling William ten minutes ago that I wouldn't mind getting rid of her-" and despite himself Angel fought the urge to laugh at the horrified expression that crossed Harmony's face as she turned and ran frantically back in the direction from which she'd come.

"He goes by William now?" Angel questioned, unsurprised as Buffy nodded and Spike rolled his eyes, snarking,

"I am still in the room you know," before turning his attention to Buffy. "Can you handle this? I'm sensing the need for some damage control back there-"

She nodded. "I'll be fine."

Angel cringed as Spike took a small step forward and claimed Buffy's lips gently with his own for less than a second before following the way Harmony had gone without so much as a glance backward. He struggled with his emotions for a long moment, feeling ridiculous before he realized that he was so deeply affected not because of the significance of the gesture but because of the fact that it was obviously completely insignificant to both Spike and Buffy. It was just something they did twenty, thirty times a day at random intervals, so commonplace that it meant nothing, and yet the fact that it meant nothing meant so much more than anyone who seen them every day for the past five years could possibly realize- signifying comfort, commitment, permanence, stability. Even more hurtful was the fact that Spike hadn't even taken advantage of the moment to give him a hard time in any way- hadn't even blinked an eye as he left Buffy alone with him _well, and Faith-_ the fact that Spike _William_ trusted his marriage, believed that Angel's presence meant nothing- and though Angel knew he should be happy for them, grateful for that, something deep inside himself wouldn't allow it as he wondered what on earth had possessed him to come to her after all these years-.

And for the first time he really surveyed the girls in front of him, shocked when a tiny voice in his head informed him harshly that they were women now. Faith looked virtually unchanged, if far more content and dressed more business casual than sexy vixen- but Buffy-

Angel felt his unbeating heart constrict at how she had developed. He'd seen women age throughout the centuries, had always suspected that she wouldn't reach the height of her beauty until she was around thirty, but seeing it having actually transpired was another thing entirely. She had gained at least ten pounds since he had last seen her and it made her curvy in all the fight places; her face had matured, losing the last of its girlish configuration and conveying wisdom - compassion. Tiny laugh lines were just starting to form, but instead of detracting from anything they only served to give her character-

"Angel? Are you with us?" he suddenly heard Faith ask sharply, and he shook his head reluctantly in the negative.

"Sorry. I'm a little disoriented-"

"Well, try to pay attention!" Buffy snapped roughly, but he recognized her unkind tone for what it really was- nervousness about what was happening, what was coming- and focused his attention on her, offering a sincere,

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she shrugged magnanimously before determining, correctly, that she was going to need to start over, beginning, "How did you get here in the middle of the day?"

"The sewers," he replied at once, looking at her like she had grown two heads, and she rolled her eyes, flushing slightly.

"Sorry, I guess that was a stupid question," she admitted ruefully. "Been a long time since I needed to keep track of how Vampires-" and she grew redder before lifting her chin defiantly. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I just- don't understand what's going on," and Faith nodded agreement.

"That would make two of us. I mean, you disappear for five years and then suddenly burst in here talking about evil, which, I mean, also seemed to have disappeared-"

Angel's brow furrowed in confusion. "If evil has disappeared from LA, why do you all work here together?"

Both girls looked at him like he was crazy before Buffy ventured, "Well… I know you're not much for transient things, but there is this little fad called money-" before Faith snorted,

"Not that we make any-"

"Hey!" Buffy snapped. "We do make-" she flushed again, "Well, some-"

Faith shrugged. "Whatever. It's just good that we can help-"

"What exactly do you all do?" Angel interrupted, and Buffy grew redder before squaring her shoulders.

"Employ lawyers to defend underprivileged children," she said in a soft rush. "Not the most lucrative thing in the world, but it can be pretty rewarding-" and suddenly her eyes locked with his before she continued, voice tight with emotion, "After all, someone needed to look out for the kids whose souls needed saving-"

Angel looked downward, feeling like her words were a slap as he ventured, feeling ridiculous, "So- you're not a lawyer?"

She smiled in what could almost have been amusement were it not for the tension in the room, saying "Not so much," before turning to Faith, and stating with some pride, "But Faith just finished up her fourth year at UCLA and is applying to Law School-"

"Um," Faith said nervously, looking toward the shattered doors as soft growls started to come from down the hall, "This small talk is all- um, REALLY great, but about those demons who are following you-"

"Okay," Buffy cut her off rapidly, seeming to comprehend the situation in one swift instant. "One of us needs to get Angel out of here through the back. The other one gets to play."

"You're stronger than me," Faith admitted at once, at which Buffy snorted.

"Yeah, but you're actually in shape."

Angel looked at them in disbelief, wondering how they had come to get along so well even as he asked incredulously, "Are the two of you going to rock paper scissors for it?"

"Well excuse me," Buffy snapped, eyes flashing. "This is a little confusing. It's been five years since any fighting of any evil of any sort has been done. I'm sorry if you can't-"

"Right, then," Faith sighed, realizing that leaving them alone together would most likely result in at least one death and yanking Angel toward the back stairway. "I'll take care of him, you do the kick ass thing."

"Good plan," Buffy shrugged, squaring her shoulders as the noise in the hallway got louder. "Will and I will meet you in an hour."

With that she rushed out into the hall.

--

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	3. Chapter 3: Awkwardness and Sunlight

Angel looked cautiously around Faith's cramped apartment as she hurriedly pulled drapes closed before turning to offer him what might have been the beginning of a smile, but ended up only reflecting her uncertainty at the whole situation as she shifted nervously. "Uh- make yourself comfortable. I have- some books somewhere- I think-" she said awkwardly before something else seemed to occur to her and she quickly offered, "Or, would you like something to eat? I picked up some-" she shifted uneasily once more, before deciding to just let the statement die without making anything even more uncomfortable, relieved when he didn't press it.

"This is fine," he said with a brief shrug, sitting down on the nearest chair and grabbing a book sitting on a nearby table, smiling slightly as he looked at the title.

"Psychology? Interesting choice-"

"Oh. Yeah," she replied, flushing slightly. "It was my major."

He nodded slowly. "Buffy was starting to say you graduated?"

"Angel, look," she blurted, crossing her arms before sitting down across from him and forcing herself to meet his eye. "You and I are five by five, okay? You helped me out when no one else would take the chance, and I owe you one for that, but- the thing is," she continued, looking uncomfortable, "Buffy and I are-" she let out a deep sigh before saying shortly, "You hurt her pretty bad. And anything else that gets said about that needs to be between you and her, but I can't-" she sighed again, looking pained as she concluded, "I'm sorry, but- whatever's abut to happen- my loyalty is to her. I thought it was only fair that you know."

Angel felt like she had punched him in the gut, and only narrowly avoided demanding if she had any idea how much Buffy had hurt him and in how many ways as his fists clenched at his sides. He was surprised at how much her words hurt, even after all this time, the sting at the realization that she believed he was only trying to make small talk with her to win her support in some way- that there was no way he could possibly care- He forced himself to be the adult in the situation, though, trying to keep emotion from his voice as he said, "I'm hoping that won't be an issue."

She nodded. "Well, ditto."

Unable to deal with the awkwardness, Angel got up and moved through the apartment, stopping in front of a shelf with pictures on top of it, eyes instantly leaping to one of Buffy and Spike- _William_, a small voice in his head unwillingly corrected- prominently displayed. They were sitting outside on the grass, sunshine surrounding them, arms casually thrown around one another. But what hurt him more than their posture, more even than the sunshine, was the look on her face, her head thrown back in laughter as Spike seemed to be whispering something in her ear, both of them carefree- and he knew, without needing to think about it, that he had never made her laugh like that- had never even seen it-

"I shouldn't have come here," he said aloud, and heard rather than saw Faith shift nervously again.

"You shouldn't say that," she sighed in what sounded like resignation. "I'm sure- if there had been another way you would have taken it." Her brow furrowed as she took a step toward him, continuing, "Though actually- I am still a little unclear on the 'why you're here' part-"

"Can I ask you something? he interrupted, and she eyed him cautiously before responding,

"Um, sure. I guess so."

"How are they together?" he blurted, relieved when she didn't ask who he was talking about before beginning carefully,

"I'm not sure you should be asking me about them. I don't see how it could lead to anything good-" but something in his face seemed to give her pause, and she met his eyes slowly before venturing two words, hoping they wouldn't hurt him. "They're happy."

"I'm- glad," he nearly choked as she eyed him disbelievingly.

"That's big of you," she said, doubt in her voice. "But Angel-"

She was cut off as a loud knock sounded at the door and Spike came in without being asked, nodding shortly at Angel before addressing Faith.

"Buff's on her way. There were a lot of them-"

"Is she okay?" Faith and Angel as ked at the same time, and there was a painful pause before Spike replied,

"Well, last I saw she was making the other guys look worse, yeah. But you know my girl- always hates to leave the fight unfinished-"

"You didn't stay to help her?" Angel demanded incredulously, stunned when Spike just arched an eyebrow.

"And do what? Get knocked unconscious and probably killed? One of the disadvantages of being a real boy, peaches- no superpowers." He shrugged, sitting down on the couch casually enough that Angel knew he must have been there countless times before adding, "I can help her better here."

"How?" Angel asked shortly, and Spike looked at him as though he had grown two heads before replying shortly,

"Well, I was thinking maybe you could help me out with that part. What are you doing here? What do you want us to do to help you? That kind of thing. Maybe we can start sorting it out, and that way, by the time Buffy gets here, there will be some kind of plan-"

"Buffy is here," a tired voice said from the doorway, and Spike jumped up in a alarm at his wife's disheveled appearance as she stood there, hair that had previously been contained in a chignon falling wildly around her shoulders, a good three or four inches longer than Angel could ever remember having seen it as she continued, "Faith? Can I maybe hit you up for some jeans?"

Despite his best efforts Angel's eyes leapt to her skirt, which had a very new slit cut high on her shapely thigh-

And he paled as he realized that the same thigh was bleeding. "You're hurt," he said, stunned when she just shot him a withering glare.

"Good to know you can still be counted on to state the obvious," she quipped before sighing, softening her voice as she added, "I'll live."

Faith and Spike both sprang into action as Angel watched, feeling more ineffectual than he had in years while Faith rapidly slammed drawers were open and shut, muttering,

"I gotta say, at least before evil disappeared I always knew where the first aid kit was," before tossing some bandages at Spike, who started to quickly wrap them around his wife's thigh.

"Really, I'm fine," Buffy said, though for whose benefit exactly Angel wasn't certain, "It's not deep."

"No, it's not," Spike confirmed as Buffy caught a pair of jeans faith tossed her way and shimmied into them as Angel averted his eyes. Within seconds, though, all of them had somehow managed to congregate in the small living room, and Angel tried to remain unaffected as Spike again sat down on the couch and Buffy casually slid onto his lap. Despite himself, Angel hated how similar the motion was to the kiss he had seen them share earlier- unthinking, not sexual but comfortable, certain-

"So, Angel," Faith said, looking slightly pained. "I guess now that the gang's all here-"

"You want to know why I came," he supplied, sinking down into a chair.

"Well, that would cover a lot of it, yeah," Spike supplied dryly, linking a hand casually with Buffy's, causing Angel's stomach to clench painfully as he looked at them for a long moment before sighing.

"It's a long story and really there's no good way to start… I've been living in Nepal-"

There was a brief pause during which all three of the people sitting around him looked like they wanted to ask him a question and none of them did, and he was grateful that he couldn't flush as he continued,

"Strange things started happening about three months ago. Unexplained deaths, mostly… a few large-scale fires- at first I assumed they were just accidents, coincidences- but then I saw it-"

"What?" Buffy asked blankly, and he fought the urge to sigh impatiently as he elaborated,

"A demon."

"Well, whoopee," Buffy snapped caustically. "Newsflash, but I just saw three of them-"

"I hadn't seen a demon in five years," Angel said slowly. "I'm not ashamed to say that I was pretty floored."

"Yeah, well, neither had I," Buffy admitted slowly. "I kind of thought they were gone but-"

"They weren't," Angel finished definitively. "Just hiding, waiting for their moment-"

"For five years?" Buffy asked incredulously. "Without any of us finding one?"

"It's not that hard to hide," Faith observed unthinkingly. "I mean, think about Angel-" before snapping her mouth shut, looking very sorry to have spoken even as Buffy flinched before amending,

"Okay, wrong question. Why now?"

"I don't know," Angel admitted shortly. "I have reason to believe that they're after me-"

Spike looked at him incredulously before saying, "You know, mate, did it ever occur to you that you're approaching this whole 'fighting evil' thing all wrong? Maybe the thing for you to do would be to join forces with the bad guys and count on your truly horrible luck to wipe them out-"

Angel recoiled as though slapped, despite himself feeling the truth of the words, thinking for the millionth time that he should really just go as he began to stand up, saying, "I should get out of here-"

But he was stopped by Buffy, who, though she had started to smile at her husbands words, had instantly stopped when she saw Angel's reaction and was now looking at him with what could only be described as compassion as she shifted slightly on Spike's lap as she quietly said, "Angel, sit down," turning to her husband and chiding softly, "That was really uncalled for," before her gaze hardened again. "After all, Angel's made it clear that he wouldn't be here if we weren't his last resort- it's not like we need to try to make him feel worse-" and she flushed slightly as she met his eyes once more, "Which I now realize that I was doing earlier, and-" she gulped before offering an only halfway sincere, "I'm sorry. This-" she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before continuing, "Doesn't have to be bad. If we can all just put aside our differences and work together for a little while we can get rid of these guys and get back to happily coexisting millions of miles from one another. Anyone else in favor of this plan?"

Taking everyone's silence as agreement she nodded, standing up. "I never thought I was going to say this again, but I think we should call Giles." She turned her gaze to Faith. "Can I use the phone in your bedroom?"

"Yeah," the girl replied, looking surprised. "Go for it."

"Will, can you come help me?" Buffy asked, but her tone made it clear that it wasn't a question, and Spike jumped up at once, looking confused as he followed her into the back of the apartment and moments later Angel heard a door shut.

"Is it wrong that whenever she says 'Will' I think she means Willow?" Angel enquired, trying to lighten the mood after a long moment of silence and surprised when Faith flinched.

"Uh- I'd have to go with a 'yeah'. Willow's a bad subject around here… I wouldn't bring her up-"

Angel looked at her in frank astonishment before venturing, "At the risk of sounding completely out of the loop- why?"

Faith opened her mouth, then shut it, looking pained. "I'm thinking that's not something I should be answering."

--

"Since when do you need help to make a phone call?" Spike asked lightly as Buffy shut the door to the room, and he offered her a small smile as she turned toward him. "Last I checked you were quite up on all the wonders of modern technology-"

"Are you okay with this?" she cut him off abruptly, and his smile faded at the question, brow furrowing slightly as he contemplated.

"Okay with what?" he finally replied, and she sighed in frustration, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Me. Doing this," she elaborated shortly, waving her hand ineffectually in the air, surprised as he just continued to smile indulgently at her.

"What? Saving the world?" he quipped dryly before abandoning his attempts at wit at the somber expression on her face. "Of course I'm okay with it," he confirmed, stepping forward to gently push a strand of hair from her face. "I fell in love with a slayer. It'd be pretty hypocritical of me to be angry at her that she is one."

Buffy scrutinized his face carefully. "I know that- this isn't what you signed up for," she said slowly. "I mean, I'm definitely remembering the talks we had about how all the slayer stuff was over-"

"Yeah, well," he shrugged casually, and she was amazed as always at his ability to be calm in the face of whatever life threw their way, his instantaneous ability to grasp the big picture. "That was before we realized evil was still alive and well, now, wasn't it." He lowered his voice slightly before adding with a knowing smirk, "Anyway, the whole thing is kind of a turn on."

Despite herself she let out a sharp giggle, shoving him playfully before he grabbed her and kissed her lightly. As she pulled away, though, her look shifted from happiness to uncertain admiration.

"And you're really okay with-" she gulped slightly, seeming to deliberate before she continued, "Angel being around?"

It was his turn to scrutinize her closely as he paused for a long moment, face uncertain for the first time as he replied slowly, "Are you saying there's a reason I shouldn't be?"

She looked at him in confusion for a minute before understanding what he was getting at, and her mouth dropped in genuine offense as she said incredulously, "God no. Of COURSE not."

He shrugged matter-of-factly, confident smirk coming to his face as he arched an eyebrow cockily. "Didn't think so."

She let out another irrepressible giggle before she elaborated, biting her lip, "I just meant-I mean, not that I've really been all 'arms-wide-open' since he got here, but- you've been pretty-" she bit her lip again before settling on a word, "Harsh."

Spike shrugged. "Never did much get along with him. You know that. Don't see that changing anytime soon." His gaze softened as he continued, reaching a hand out to cup her cheek, "Doesn't mean I want him dead or would try to stop you from working with him." As she leaned into his touch slightly he scrutinized her again before continuing, "If working with him is what you want. I'll support you if you don't want to get back into this, you know. I'm sure Faith would understand, and it's not like there's a scarcity of slayers around-"

She looked down for a long moment before letting her eyes meet his. "I don't. Want to. And I wouldn't be if you weren't okay with it. But the fact is- Angel knows there are other slayers and… well, pretty much has made it clear that he never wants to see us again, and he still came here."

"You think more is going on than he's telling us?" Spike supplied slowly, unsurprised when she nodded, and he sighed before agreeing, "Me too."

--

Angel shifted uncomfortably, looking at the still closed door. "You think they need help?" he asked after a beat, and Faith shrugged.

"Help with what? Making a phone call?" She frowned slightly. "I'm sure they're fine."

"Should it be taking this long?" he enquired and she shot him a withering glance.

"I'm sure they're also talking about what all of it means. Give them a few minutes."

"Well," he began slowly, "Not to sound dense, but couldn't they be talking about that out here?"

She looked at him as though he was very stupid before elaborating, "What it means for THEM. You know. As a couple."

He couldn't stop himself from flinching at the word even as he felt like an idiot, replying stiffly, "Right. Got it."

Faith looked at him uneasily, feeling, not for the first time, that this whole situation really could not end well for him, not when he so clearly still had feelings for Buffy- and not when she suspected Buffy would never fully get over him, either, no matter how much she might try to hide that from herself, channeling everything she had ever felt for Angel into anger, no matter how much she might love Spike- and she flinched, remembering Buffy's wedding, Willow storming out as the petit blonde dissolved into tears, Spike's total confusion about what was going on and-

Faith snapped back to the present with difficulty, trying to survey the situation objectively. _Okay, maybe it's not so bad. Angel loves Buffy. Spike loves Buffy. Buffy loves Angel and Spike, but there's no way she'll ever leave her husband, and with any luck she's going to be too mad at Angel to actually get to really talk to him and resolve anything, and god knows all he ever tries to do any more is avoid her, so we just need to get this all over with as quickly as possible so that no one gets hurt in the meantime-_

And as the bedroom door swung open and Buffy and Spike stepped back into the living room, hands entwined, Faith felt for the first time that at least that part of it might actually be okay, at least for Buffy and Spike. Buffy was looking at Angel calmly, almost indifferently, Spike was looking at her as though everything was completely fine, no trace of jealousy or discomfort coming off of him at all, and Angel was clearly trying his best to be level headed about everything, taking it in stride-

"Okay," Buffy said briefly with a slightly strained smile that let Faith know just how hard she was trying as she addressed them. "Talked to Giles, he has entered research mode. Faith, do you still have your UCLA ID card?"

"Sure," she nodded at once before asking somewhat suspiciously, "Why?"

Buffy flushed sightly, looking a bit sheepish before answering, "Giles needs you to steal a book.

Faith looked at her disbelievingly for a moment, uncertain whether to laugh or take the statement completely seriously, deciding to try for something in between as she smiled wryly. "Must be some book. It have a name?"

"Not one that I can pronounce," Buffy smiled back. "Here-" she said, proffering a piece of paper. "I had him spell it."

Angel looked at the paper before letting out a slight snort. "It's Latin. Means 'After the End.'"

Buffy shrugged before offering sarcastically, "Yeah, whatever. Intriuging." She bit her lip, looking uncertain before she blurted. "Giles thought that Faith and William should probably go steal the book while you and I go patrolling."

Faith looked at Spike quickly, trying to determine if he was okay with that, relieved when he seemed to take it completely in stride.

Angel wasn't so lucky, looking at Buffy uncertainly, a strange sort of agony in his eyes, seeming to want to say something but be unwilling to as everyone stood there in silence for a moment that stretched on for just a bit too long, causing Buffy to offer awkwardly,

"Or- I could just go alone," before Angel said softly,

"It's fine. That's fine. We'll go." There was another pause as his brow furrowed slightly. "What exactly are we patrolling for?"

She shrugged, looking slightly helpless. "I think that's sort of what we're all trying to figure out." She turned her attention to Faith. "William and I are going out to dinner. Can we meet back here after dark?"

Faith looked at Angel uneasily. "Um- sure. I kind of have some stuff I need to do though- um-" she paused awkwardly. "Angel, do you mind if we-"

"Go," he said shortly, even as he swallowed hard. "I don't mind being alone."

--

Angel looked carefully out the window at the shady street in front of the building as Spike _William_ and Buffy emerged, still holding hands. He watched them say goodbye to Faith before turning and beginning to walk in the other direction, despite everything smiling at one another.

"So much for the Opera," he heard her teasing through the open window, nothing that she sounded slightly wistful, before feel his heart twist painfully as Spike stopped, caressing Buffy's cheek gently as he said,

"Well, pet, we'll just have to make an opera of our own," before leaning forward and claiming her lips in a lingering, gentle kiss.

And as Buffy wrapped an arm around Spike's neck, letting out a small whimper, Angel let the curtain flutter shut.

--

_Feedback is really, really lovely and appreciated. Thanks for reading! _


	4. Chapter 4: Mediator

Buffy and Angel walked down an alleyway in silence, and she looked around uncomfortably at anything but the vampire standing next to her, wondering how much longer they were going to have to spend walking down deserted streets before it would seem fair to say 'Okee dokee, let's call it a night'. Unfortunately, the longer that they went without speaking the more she doubted that either of them was actually going to be able to break the silence. From nowhere she felt a strange desire for a fight, knowing that at least then she and he would be forced to work together, in whatever bizarre capacity- and instantly felt guilty for thinking that way, squaring her shoulders and expelling a short breath before deciding that she should grow up and try, at the very least, to get some more information from him about why he was here- what he thought they might be fighting-

"Why do you think they're after you?" she blurted abruptly, unaffected when he only blinked down at her, seeming shocked that she had spoken. "And why did you come to me and Faith instead of to the Council? Why did you think-"

"Rupert made it clear years ago that I was on my own," Angel said after a long moment, kicking a trashcan out of the way in order to determine that nothing was behind it before he continued shortly, "For a long time I believed that he was speaking on your behalf, but the more I thought about it the more that didn't-" he paused as though searching for the correct words before finishing somewhat anticlimactically, "seem right. So I took a chance you'd offer me help where he denied it."

She looked at him as though he'd grown two heads before saying doubtfully, "Giles refused to help you fight evil?" Not waiting for his answer she shook her head vehemently. "I don't believe you."

"No," he said sharply, face growing cold. "Why would you possibly believe me?"

"You have a lot of nerve saying that to me," she retorted harshly before letting out a sigh, running a frustrated hand through her hair. "I'm not going to fight with you," she said quietly after a long moment, turning to walk ahead of him down the next deserted street. After a few seconds had passed, however, she continued, somewhat belying her words, "Giles is helping us now, isn't he? My god, Angel! I let Dawn go to England to be a watcher! Do you think I would have done that if I believed for a second that they would deny anyone help?" She shook her head again. "You must have misunderstood something, I don't know, but the slayers and the council are here to help people. I mean," she flushed slightly, "Generally the causes of the problems aren't so much supernatural anymore, but-"

"I didn't misunderstand," Angle said coldly in a tone of voice she still recognized as meaning that the conversation was definitely over, and she sighed in frustration again, bracing herself to go onto the next topic, stunned when he stopped her next line of questioning short with a sharp and unexpected inquiry of his own.

"How long have you two been married?"

She bristled, starting to say it was none of his business before deciding it really couldn't hurt anything to answer. "Almost three years."

He looked slightly surprised, but she couldn't tell if the expression was genuine or affected, or what it might mean as they turned into a cemetery. "You waited a while after the apocalypse," he finally observed levelly, and she fought to keep her voice as emotionless as his as she responded,

"Well, there was an engagement, and-" she flushed slightly despite herself, "We didn't want to rush into anything. I mean-" she paused for a long moment, actually ceasing movement, and he stalled beside her, looking at her in some confusion.

"What?" he enquired, not unkindly, sounding more like the person she had known so long ago than he had since bursting into her office earlier, and she met his eyes before saying carefully,

"Despite what some of my actions might indicate, I really don't like being a bitch. I don't want to say anything that might-"

He scoffed cruelly. "You think you can hurt me now? You really are full of yourself, do you know that?" he demeaned, and she lifted her chin defiantly before observing grimly,

"Good. We're on the same page," adding softly, "We wanted to be sure we were actually in love, not just caught up in the aftermath of a miracle- does that make sense?" She shrugged self consciously, not waiting for his answer before she offered a small, genuine smile. "The news was good."

He nodded stiffly, expression unreadable. "I gathered as much."

She wavered between asking him more about why he was there and asking him what, for better or worse, she actually wanted to know before questioning slowly, "And how is- Nina?"

A pained look flitted across his face before he could conceal it and she flinched at once, near-gasping, "Oh God, please tell me that whatever is doing this didn't kill her-"

Angel jerked his head back in surprise before smiling ironically. "Not that I know of, but thanks for the great mental picture."

She sighed in relief before shaking her head. "Then why with the tragic face?" she inquired as lightly as she was able, surveying the area carefully even though she had all but given up hope of actually finding anything lurking out there tonight.

"Nothing," he replied shortly. "It's just that- I don't know how Nina is. I haven't seen her in a little over five years."

Buffy stopped short, mouth forming a small 'o' as she inquired gently, unsure why she cared, "What happened?"

He visibly wavered before meeting her eye, confessing softly, "I thought about whether I was actually in love with her," before offering a small, self-deprecating shrug of his own. "Turns out the news wasn't as good."

"I'm sorry," she said slowly, confused about the fact that what she was feeling most sharply was simple relief for reasons she couldn't understand, and even if she did she wouldn't be willing to admit to herself-

He shrugged. "I guess- I always viewed it as a temporary-" he began before stopping abruptly, and one look at his closed off face let her know that was all she would ever hear from him on the subject, at least for now, before he moved the conversation to what he evidently hoped was safer ground, observing casually,

"You and Faith seem close."

"It surprises you?" she asked lightly and he shrugged ambivalently.

"Yes and no," he replied shortly and she fought the unexpected urge to laugh _still with the cryptic_ before deciding to throw him a bone in good faith, hoping it would help make the situation between them less awkward, especially since she had no way of knowing how long they might need to work together-

"Things were pretty awkward until my wedding, actually…" she sighed, "Which is a much longer story, but basically…I think the whole problem was always that we were a little jealous of each other, and suddenly there was this moment of" she paused, trying hard to think of the best way to describe it before shrugging. "I guess _understanding _between us and- not that it was all suddenly resolved after that, but it had been slowly getting better for a long time, and then when we realized we both really just wanted to be done with slaying- I mean, with the council in any capacity, really- it was like- I don't know," she shrugged, "Platonic soulmates or something. And not that anyone could replace Willow exactly, but-" Buffy stopped suddenly, noting the interested look on Angel's face but deciding it was her turn to get with the cryptic, inquiring casually, "So. What makes these demons so special?"

He blinked at the abrupt change of topic before saying slowly, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what's their _thing,_" she replied as though he were a child, waving a hand in the air expressively. "What's their _goal_? What's their super-power? What are we looking for?"

He shook his head slowly. "Believe me when I say I wish I could tell you. They seemed totally ordinary to me-"

"Right," she said eagerly, nodding as she took an unthinking step closer to him before flushing slightly, unexpectedly at their proximity and backing away, pretending to look around her for anything unusual as she continued, "That's what I thought too, when I started fighting them, but-" Her brow furrowed and he looked at her in concern before saying coaxingly,

"But?"

She looked up at him, and he was alarmed to see something resembling fear in her eyes as she said slowly, "They were strong, Angel. I mean-" she gulped, looking down before forcing herself to meet his eyes again. "We didn't get to finish the fight, the police showed up and they bolted but- the thing is-" she flinched slightly, "I think they were winning."

He looked at her in surprise before shrugging. "That doesn't sound so unusual. You were outnumbered three to one and you haven't been training-"

"No," she cut him off before amending, "I mean, yes, that's true, but- I'm not talking about skill or numbers or anything like that. I'm talking about brute strength. They were _stronger_ than me." She bit her lip slightly nervously. "And- I mean, not to sound conceited but-" she flushed. "Almost nothing's stronger than me. The only reason they weren't kicking my ass was that they didn't have any clue how to improvise whatsoever- it was almost laughable-"

"You would have won," he said softly, cutting her off, and she recoiled slightly before saying softly,

"I'm not sure."

"I am," he said shortly, meeting her eyes, and they both stood silently for a long moment before he broke the eye contact, leaving her slightly disoriented for reasons she didn't quite understand as he frowned slightly, demanding, "How bad are you hurt _really_?"

"I'm okay to patrol, if that's what you mean," she replied slightly indignantly after a beat, pleased when he shook his head in the negative.

"It's not."

"They beat me up pretty bad," she shrugged nonchalantly before paling slightly. "Don't tell Will- he worries." She flushed, ashamed she had just asked anyone, much less Angel, to help her keep something from her husband-

But he seemed to take it as a matter of course as he shrugged. "I don't think I'll be talking to him more than necessary. Your secret is safe with me."

She wavered, hating how easy it was to confide in him even now, the way she was sure he understood far more than she would ever actually say before letting out a sharp cry as something tackled her out of nowhere.

"Buffy!" Angel exclaimed in concern before being tackled himself.

--

"Oh god. Do you think we lost them?" Buffy enquired breathlessly nearly an hour later as she huddled with Angel behind a dumpster.

"I do," he said shortly, and she looked at him, something halfway between confusion and fear in her eyes.

"We should probably get back to Faith's."

"Agreed," he said shortly, placing a hand unconsciously on the small of her back as they stepped out from behind the clutter and instantly regretting it as she flinched and stiffened before stepping away from him and wordlessly starting to jog in the direction of Faith's apartment.

--

"B!" Faith exclaimed in something resembling relieved alarm as Buffy and Angel burst into the small apartment. "We were starting to get worried-"

"We're okay," Buffy said shortly as she picked a leaf out of her hair. "Did you get the book?"

"Over there," Faith nodded briefly, gesturing to the kitchen table, and despite herself Buffy smiled at the massive ten volume collection atop it.

"And they couldn't have just needed, I don't know, Harry Potter or something," she groused, but her voice was teasing as she looked around the room, face puckering in concern as she inquired, "Did Will go home?"

"No," a voice sounded blearily from the couch, "But some of us do need to get up early tomorrow without the additional help of super-powers."

"You were taking a nap?" Angel demanded incredulously before letting out a grunt of pain as Buffy elbowed him sharply.

"Well-" Faith said, looking uncomfortable, wondering, not for the first time, what the world was coming to when she was the one constantly needing to be the mediator, "I mean, Angel, it is four in the morning. If I could be napping I would be."

"No use trying to reason with him," Spike quipped, looking suddenly much more alert as he sauntered over to Buffy. "After all, he is on vampire time-"

"Okay, can we maybe concentrate on the objective here?" Buffy exclaimed in frustration. "We're all tired, we're all confused, we all think that this- well, sucks."

"I'll second that," Spike muttered, wrapping an arm gently around her waist, and Angel flinched as she had the exact opposite reaction to his touching her earlier, leaning gently into it as she offered Spike a small smile.

"Faith, how are we getting the books to England?" Buffy demanded suddenly, and Angel was awed by her take-charge attitude, ashamed to have forgotten how easily she could whip a group of people to attention, reduce a situation to its essentials, and forget the rest.

"Oh. Uh," Faith looked at Angel uncomfortably before saying, "William and I found someone who's willing to deliver them personally. He's leaving tomorrow at around noon- he'll stop by to pick them up in the morning."

Angel was relieved when he wasn't the only one who appeared confused, and Buffy blinked at Faith in obvious confusion before demanding,

"Huh? Does this someone have a name, or are we just supposed to-"

"Faith GAVE HIM a KEY to the place," Spike interrupted Buffy, meeting her eyes for a long moment, seeming to try to impart some knowledge to her- and Angel frowned slightly as it evidently worked, Buffy's face clearing as she said slowly,

"Oh! Uh, _someone_. Got it," before shooting Faith a look that still seemed confused, but Angel recognized as being almost accusing, only serving to heighten his own uncertainty as Spike gently squeezed Buffy's waist, asking softly,

"And how was patrol, then?"

Buffy looked at Angel, slightly frustrated when he simply gave her a _you go ahead_ shrug before she replied, "Not great. Some demons attacked us and we ended up bolting." She bit her lip before saying slowly, "They were strong."

"How many?" Faith questioned sharply and Buffy looked at Angel again before answering,

"I don't know? Seven or eight?"

""Distinguishing marks?" Spike enquired, and Buffy looked to Angel, discouraged when he shrugged yet again and she shook her head in the negative.

"No. Just strong." She looked at Angel uncertainly before venturing, "Angel? How many do you think there are?"

He looked at her, something resembling surprise on his face. "I would have corrected you if I thought you'd been wrong. There were seven or eight-"

"No," she said, looking slightly sheepish but continuing, "How many do you think there are- _total_."

His expression grew bleak as he seemed to contemplate for a long moment before replying unhelpfully, "Don't know. Speculation isn't going to get us anywhere."

"Agreed," Spike said wholeheartedly to everyone's surprise before turning to Buffy. "Ready to go, pet?"

She nodded slowly, unable to shake the feeling that they were missing something. "Yeah. Let's go."

"Uh-" Faith said slowly. "Guys? What are we going to do with Angel?"

Buffy blinked at her before saying blankly, "I'm sorry. Can he not stay here?"

Looking extremely guilty, Faith shook her head in the negative. "Sorry, Angel, it's not personal," she offered, clearly meaning it and Buffy shook her head, sighing.

"We are SO having lunch tomorrow," she said, gazing at Faith meaningfully, and Angel felt even more confused as Buffy looked at Spike helplessly.

"No," Spike said firmly, correctly interpreting her expression as he shook his head. "I'm sorry, but he's not staying in our house."

Buffy frowned at him, something resembling annoyance on her face as she snapped, "Well then what are we going to do with him? Leave him on the street to die?"

Spike looked at Buffy, annoyance on his face as he said, "Well you don't need to get TESTY about it, there must be someone-"

--

"Mr Spike!" Harmony exclaimed, opening her door. "What brings you here at this- um, early-"

"Sorry, Harmony," Spike apologized somewhat sincerely. "I hope I didn't wake you."

"What? No!" she exclaimed. "I was totally awake. Would you believe that Tom Cruise JUST-"

"Yes," Spike said shortly. "Harmony, Buffy and I need you to do us a favor."

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "Sure! I mean, as long as it doesn't involve, you know, too much overtime-"

"Oh no, nothing like that," Spike said reassuringly. "We just want you to put an old friend up for a few nights."

She shrugged. "Okay, sure. Who-" and her face suddenly grew horrified. "Wait, this isn't about how Angel came by earlier is it? Because-"

"Hi, Harmony," Angel said, suddenly appearing behind Spike. "Can I come in?"

The female vampire fainted dead away.

--

"So," Buffy said lightly, crawling into bed beside her husband before reaching over and turning off the light, "You think they'll be okay?"

He let out a small chuckle. "I'd say so. Who knows? Maybe she'll actually develop a work ethic, what with being scared to go home at night-"

Buffy laughed as his arm wrapped around her and he kissed her lips lightly. "You're terrible."

"I do try," he chirped and she laughed again before saying, voice more serious,

"Angel said he came to us because Giles told him he was on his own or… something... He made it sound like a while ago- do you know what he meant?"

His brow furrowed and he seemed to really contemplate for a long moment before sighing. "Sorry, love, I don't."

"I don't know if he even thought he was telling the truth or if-" she began before yawning, casually twining a leg through Spike's as she said softly, "I don't trust him."

"Maybe you don't have to," he said quietly before venturing slowly, "I would like it if you started training with him, though."

"What?" she blinked in surprise, propping herself up slightly as she looked at his face, slightly illuminated by the early morning light that was already spilling into the bedroom. "I mean-" she swallowed before repeating, almost more blankly, "What?"

"Much as it pains me to admit he might be good for anything, we have to face reality," he replied, running a hand lazily over her hip as she shivered slightly. "Whatever these demons are, they're strong, and you haven't exactly kept up with your training. Faith's too busy to really help you out, and unless Giles has been keeping something from us almost all the slayers and watchers are assembled in England now. Angel can help you, especially if what Giles said is true and we might have to eventually use him as bait-"

"Do I have to?" she asked, sounding all of five years old, and he smiled at her indulgently.

"No, but I think you should," he said, voice somber. "I don't want you hurt-"

She sighed, laying her head on his chest. "Okay. I'll talk to him about it tomorrow."

Spike smiled softly. "I think you mean today."

"God," she sighed, looking at the light spilling in through the window. "Do you think there's any point in even going to sleep?"

He ran a hip lazily over her hip again, pleased as she let out a small gasp and licked her lips, offering him an uncertain and sultry smile. "We should- sleep," she murmured unconvincingly as his hand slid slightly higher, thumb making lazy circles as his lips found her neck, sucking lightly.

"We should," he murmured throatily back, and she moaned as he gently slid on top of her.

--

_Feedback is wildly appreciated and keeps me motivated :) Thank you so much_ Angel sumoritos, lala, kiss and trauma, CF, willowwiccan, Fang Fan, and spygrll _for your reviews, suggestions and support!_ _Any comments are wonderful :) _

_Thanks to all for reading!_


	5. Chapter 5: Control

_THANK you for the feedback. More detailed replies to your comments can be found at the end of the chapter._

Buffy yawned exhaustedly as she walked into the office, stepping over the remains of the shattered glass doors which two janitors were laboriously picking up. Spike followed shortly behind her, Venti Starbucks Frappuchino clutched tightly in his hand.

"Hey!" Faith called relief, jumping out from behind the front desk. "Harmony's late, I've been fending phone calls and-" she looked from Spike to Buffy for a long moment, observing, "Wow, you guys really look like shit. Didn't you get any sleep?" As Buffy looked down at the floor guiltily and Spike just smirked before taking a gulp of coffee Faith broke into a knowing, slightly sarcastic smile. "Fcked all night long, huh?" she quipped dryly.

Buffy's head shot up and she looked slightly scandalized, retorting indignantly. "Of course not!" before flushing. "I mean, by the time we got home it was already morning-"

"Way to tell me, B," Faith teased, but her smile was kind.

"Yeah, well," Buffy muttered, meeting Faith's gaze, "You still owe me lunch."

Faith's smile faded and she nodded. "I do."

Buffy looked toward the clock hanging over the front desk, blinking. "Is that right?"

Faith nodded once more. "It's right."

"I am SO sorry-" Buffy started to apologize before Faith's first words finally registered and she asked, "Where's Harmony?"

--

"So then," Harmony continued as Angel closed his eyes and wished that he could somehow teleport himself anywhere but where he was sitting, "THEY fired me too! As though it were MY fault that the manager's son couldn't keep his hands off of me!" she frowned slightly. "Though it was a bad idea to try to have a quickie in the-"

"Harmony," Angel interrupted her, holding up a hand, "I think I'm getting the picture."

She blinked in surprise. "Oh! Well, okay. So then I finally decided to come to Spike- I mean, Mr. Spike, and Buffy. And would you believe they acted like they were doing me a huge _favor_ by hiring me? I almost thought Mr. Spike wasn't going to do it, which, I mean, was just uncalled for after _all _ that I did for him- but Mrs. Summers convinced him to give me a chance-"

Angel's ears perked up as he inquired in disbelief, "BUFFY did?"

Harmony nodded, looking surprised at his reaction. "I mean, sure." She shrugged. "She gives me a harder time than he does, but she has a good heart." She wrinkled her nose before continuing, "What did you do to piss her off so much anyway?" wiping off her lipstick and trying another color, evidently more pleased with it as she grabbed a mascara.

"Don't know," Angel replied briefly, not caring that it was at best a half truth as Harmony yanked on a three-inch heel.

"Weird. I mean, I know she's sort of temperamental and all, but _honestly-_" she began, yanking on the other shoe as he looked at her, trying not to appear too eager as he asked,

"What do you mean?"

Harmony shrugged, holding up a pair of earrings before discarding it casually. "Like- that time when she and Spike weren't talking for a week!"

"She and Spike weren't talking for a week?" Angel asked disbelievingly before snorting. "What happened? Did he catch her with a chaos demon or something?"

Harmony looked at him like he had completely lost it before saying slowly, "Nooooo. What are you talking about?"

"Well- what did happen?" Angel inquired, ignoring her question, hating how desperate he must sound, relieved when Harmony didn't seem to notice as she continued to blurt out the story.

"Well, when they first got married her sister gave them a hamster and it sort of –died. So they had a big, ridiculous fight about who had killed it and when they finished neither of them talked to the other one for a few hours, and I guess it became some weird pride thing between them-" she shrugged. "They're really passionate," she continued, rolling her eyes as though it explained everything, and despite himself Angel felt the words like a knife to his heart. "So finally, after about a week, Faith decided to lock them into the conference room together, which I _told_ her was a bad idea because Buffy would just break the door to get out-"

"Buffy broke the door to get out?" Angel asked incredulously, and Harmony frowned.

"Why are men always so IMPATIENT? I didn't say that's what ACTUALLY happened!"

"Well then," Angel sighed impatiently, wondering if he even really cared, "What _actually _happened?"

"Oh!" she exclaimed, as though realizing for the first time that the story might have a point. "They had sex on the table."

Angel blinked, feeling as though he was hearing the punch line to a very, very bad joke before inquiring dumbly, "That's it? That was all you wanted to say?"

"No," she said slowly, seeming to think hard. "I was going to say…" she twirled her hair absently. "Oh! Right! So, while they were having sex, Buffy moaned, and then he said her name, and after this, for like, another week, they fought about who had broken the silence, since, I mean, she hadn't really said anything but she was the first one to-"

"I get the concept," Angel said through clenched teeth. "What. Is. The. POINT?"

"My point is that maybe she's not actually mad at you," Harmony replied as though it was obvious. "Maybe she just kind of- I don't know- likes the fight."

He looked at her in shock for a long moment, stunned that she had managed to actually come up with any kind of a legitimate insight whatsoever before slowly shaking his head. "No. For them that was foreplay. Between her and I it's just-" he paused, trying to determine how to best express it before sighing, "Way too far gone for that." He looked at her sharply before inquiring, "Do they fight a lot?"

"Nope," Harmony chirped briefly before looking at the clock. "Oh NO!" she shrieked abruptly. "I'm dead!"

As she hurriedly shoved on a coat, Angel couldn't resist the urge to mutter, "I can only hope."

--

Buffy took a slow sip of her soda before looking at Faith with a sigh.

"So Connor took the books to England, huh?" she asked bluntly after a brief pause, deciding there was no tactful way to launch the subject.

Faith nodded, looking slightly guilty. "Believe me, B, I feel like shit about the whole thing-"

"What part?" Buffy inquired sharply. "The part where Angel's son doesn't want his father to know anything about his life or the part where we're helping him to accomplish that goal?"

"Both parts!" Faith hissed emphatically. "William and I fought with Connor for over an hour, but at the end of the day it's not our call. Angel's the one who took off without a word to anyone. Are you _forgetting_ the months that you and Connor spent trying to find him?"

"I'm not forgetting anything," Buffy said dully after a long moment, indignation seeming to fade. "And I don't forgive him, but he must care about his son." She shook her head, looking like she wanted to jump up in frustration. "GOD Faith! What am I supposed to do if he asks me?"

Faith shook her head, looking miserable. "I don't know," she shrugged unhappily. "But chances of that are pretty slim, right? I mean, does he even think you know about Connor?"

"What if he asks about DAWN?" Buffy asked disbelievingly. "Am I not supposed to mention the tiny, insignificant detail that she and Connor have been engaged for almost a year? Am I not supposed to mention that Connor is part of our team?"

"I don't know," Faith said, shifting uneasily in her seat. "But honestly, B- do you think he's going to ask?"

Buffy stared at her for a long moment before slowly shaking her head. "I don't." she replied, looking suddenly miserable. "God, Faith. I honestly don't know if he cares about anything at ALL-"

Faith looked at her sharply before inquiring, "How was it really?"

Buffy gingerly bit a French fry before asking, "What?"

"Patrolling with him," Faith offered simply.

"Awful," Buffy said dully, looking down before her eyes flashed up sharply, and she blurted, "Faith, I did something terrible-"

"I knew it!" Faith exclaimed triumphantly. "He tried to kiss you-"

Buffy jerked her head back, looking at Faith like she was out of her mind before saying slowly, "Faith, he barely talks to me. There's not going to be any attempted kissage."

Faith looked at her skeptically. "B, I have to tell you the truth- I don't think he's-"

"I told him things I didn't tell William," Buffy cut her off, flushing. "About the fight-"

Faith looked at her incredulously. "And that's your terrible thing?"

"It's not just-" Buffy started, sighing as she tried to figure out how to explain. "I mean, it was so EASY to talk to him about it, and it shouldn't have been. He was being all… stoic… and all I could do was blurt out things that-"

"B, what are you talking about?" Faith asked, face concerned. "So you talked to him about the big bads. The truth is, Will is pretty far removed from that life. It's normal that you would want to talk to Angel about what _you and he_ were about to fight. And it's not like Will asked-"

"No! I mean, maybe," Buffy amended, flushing slightly, "but- aren't husbands and wives supposed to share everything? I mean, I think they are. I think we were. I mean, are-" she said, looking confused as Faith bit her lip, wishing she better knew what to say.

"I think you're being too hard on yourself," she offered empathetically as Buffy bit her lip, looking guilty before saying slowly,

"I read a book right after high school. I don't remember the name of the book or the author or anything, but toward the end there was this line- I must have sat there looking at it for twenty minutes-"

"What did it say?" Faith asked curiously, and Buffy met her eyes before saying slowly,

"I hate it because it moves me." She shook her head, looking down again before continuing slowly, "That's what it was like to patrol with Angel And I _hate_ myself for that."

Faith looked at her silently for a long moment before offering slowly, "You hate _it _because _it_ moves you or you hate _him _because _he_ moves you?"

Buffy looked down at her food again, and for a second Faith didn't think she was going to answer before she whispered hoarsely, almost too quietly to be heard, "Him. _Him._ I hate _him_ because he moves me."

"B-" Faith began uncertainly before sighing. "We're all on edge right now. You haven't seen Angel in five years and- it's totally normal that you're feeling things. The important part is that you acknowledge them and try to work through them in a way that's healthy for everyone-"

Buffy smirked slightly, raising her eyes once more. "Oh-kay Miss 'I'm a Psychology-Major', I'll keep that in mind." Her smile dimmed slightly before she inquired, "And what about you? How're you holding up with everything?"

Faith looked at her in surprise. "What, me? Five by five!" She smirked slightly. "A little freaked out by needing to be the peacemaker all the time, but basically- I'm not the one you need to worry about. Watch YOURSELF."

--

"WATCH yourself!" Angel exclaimed in frustration as Buffy fell to the floor with a small cry of pain, shaking his head in something resembling disgust as she jumped up. "There's not point in training if your mind isn't here!"

"Oh, my mind is here!" she snapped, throwing a punch that he easily deflected, angry as he shook his head again, saying with certainty,

"No it's not. You need to FOCUS. It's not about strength- it's about CONTROL."

"Oh, and you like control, don't you?" she muttered bitterly, faking another sharp uppercut to his jaw, pleased when he left his midsection exposed in an effort to protect his face and she was able to slam a particularly vicious kick into his gut before cutting his legs out from under him. "Let me guess? You're about to suggest that a little tai-chi could really clear my head and- ah!" she cried as he took advantage of his position on the floor to kick her behind her knees and send her sprawling before he leapt up himself.

"No. I was about to suggest that a little less pathetic banter might help your focus," he said somewhat harshly and she leapt to her feet with a furious cry, as he continued, "This is our third day of training and if anything you've gotten worse-" and she forgot the outside world despite her best efforts not to be swayed by the familiar, seductive rhythm of the fight. _Block, parry, duck, punch, dive, kick, twist, over- _"Oh!" she gasped as he sent her sprawling with a particularly well placed kick, leaping on top of her and pinning her arms.

"Better," he said dully, climbing off of her almost at once as she slowly got to her feet, breathing heavily. "You're just out of practice," he continued, and she nodded agreeably.

"I am," she replied easily. "But some things never change."

He looked at her in confusion. "Such as?"

"I don't give up," she retorted sharply before launching at him again, trying to think like a warrior as she casually threw a few punches, watching how he moved. _Okay. So obviously his advantage is his size, and the fact that I'm seriously out of shape here-_

"Focus," he barked at her again, and she shot him a wicked smirk before chirping,

"See, that's where you're wrong-I am."

And as he drew back to punch her she took advantage of her smaller size to drop to the ground, diving under the small coffee table and kicking it toward him with all the strength in her legs, cringing slightly as it splintered around him and he let out a growl of pain before she jumped up, taking advantage of his surprise to send him sprawling with a sharp roundhouse kick before landing on top of him, enquiring breathlessly,

"You give?"

He looked at her for a long moment, making her slightly uncomfortable for reasons she didn't bother to analyze before he grabbed hold of her waist tightly with his hands and viciously flipped her over, reversing their positions.

"Don't know," he bit out roughly. "Do you?"

She looked to both sides frantically, trying to figure out how to improvise a weapon. Seeming to read her mind, he pulled her arms roughly up over her head, causing her to shiver. Feeling the strength of his grip, Buffy forced her body to relax as she realized words were the only thing she had left.

"A lot has changed since you used to know me, Angel," she said softly, pleased as his expression became slightly confused, and she inclined her head to whisper in his ear, "For one thing… I like it better on top."

His grip loosened at once as he looked at her, expression utterly scandalized, and she took advantage of his hesitation to clench her legs around him, flipping them over so that she was on top of him once more.

"Give?" she asked again, triumphant smirk on her face, slightly disappointed when he nodded rapidly.

"I do."

"You're no fun," she pouted before swinging herself up and looking at the coffee table with some concern. "I hope William didn't really like that thing-"

"Well, if he did I doubt it would be in your basement," Angel snapped and she looked at him, face displeased before saying,

"What's with the bad mood? Are you pissed that little ole me actually beat you or are you just-"

"MY bad mood?" he demanded incredulously. "What about you? All you've done is attack me since I got here four days ago. Do you think I have no feelings? Do you think I WANT to be here, watching you and Spike and the great life you've built together? Do you think I WANT to help you train?" He lowered his voice. "I don't have any delusions that you're glad about helping me, but would it really kill you to-"

"Oh! You don't have any DELUSIONS?" she snapped. "Well guess what? Neither do I! I don't mean anything to you. I doubt I ever did. I know you don't WANT to be here. You've made it perfectly clear that you never wanted to see me again, but you think you can come here when you need help and expect me to fall at your feet and say- what? 'Oh Angel, I missed you?' I DID!" Her eyes flashed as she advanced toward him, voice cold. "But you know that, don't you? Did you laugh when I was looking for you? Did you LAUGH when you told Willow you hated me and never wanted to see me again? Well guess what, Angel? YOU WIN." A single tear fell down her cheek as she repeated quietly, "You WIN. I hate you too."

Angel looked at her in disbelief for a long moment before taking a slow step toward her, reaching out an uncertain hand as he breathed, "Buffy-"

"Do NOT touch me," she said firmly even as another tear fell down her cheek "DO not-"

"Buffy?" they suddenly heard Spike call from the top of the stairs, and she let out a small gasp, bushing her tears away as she called, voice shaking slightly,

"What's up, honey?"

"Giles is on the phone. Says they figured something out, wants us all to hear."

"Faith around?" Buffy called straightening her shirt as she headed toward the stairs.

"No," he called back. "Interview of some kind- we'll have to give her the news later."

"Oooh? Which one?" Buffy asked, suddenly looking a lot more like herself as she started up the stairs. "Was it Stanford? Because she really wants Stanford-"

"Can't remember," Spike said lightly as they stepped into the living room, Angel feeling blinded by how completely white and spotless the décor was- as though a touch of darkness might somehow corrupt-

"Buffy?" they heard Giles's voice through the speakerphone. "Angel?"

"We're her, Giles. What's the what?" Buffy chirped lightly.

"Well, since the books arrived I've been pouring over them personally, transcribing the-"

"Giles, I get it. Hard work, much appreciated, honest," she said, voice sincere but impatient.

"Oh- er- right," he stuttered slightly. "Sorry. I was just going to say that it's in code, and I'm not positive- well- the best I can understand, any demons who would be able to survive on this plane after the apocalypse would have to be mutants-"

"Doesn't make sense," Buffy cut him off, perching on the edge of the sofa as she bit her lip lightly. "They look totally standard-"

"No- that is to say, not in terms of appearance- in terms of strength."

There was silence for a moment. "Buffy?" Giles inquired and she seemed to snap back to attention, saying flatly,

"Sounds about right."

"These demons would still be rendered powerless on our plane, however, without a god to lead them- which also makes no sense, since our dimension is effectively closed to-"

"Illyria," Angel said dully as Buffy and Spike both looked at him in surprise.

"Mate, she died in the-" Spike began to say before his brow furrowed. "Never did make sense how she just disappeared that way-"

"Wait," Buffy said. "I mean, I am a bit out of the loop about all that but- wasn't she sort of a good guy?

Angel and Spike shared a long look before Angel shrugged reluctantly. "Don't know."

"Okay," Buffy said, closing her eyes as she tried to put it together. "So- basically we have a pack of super-demons potentially led by a god. Am I getting this so far?"

"That would be the gist, yes," Giles said slowly. "There are also coordinates, but I'm not sure what they mean-"

"Coordinates? As in a location?" Buffy inquired, brow furrowing.

"No. As in a Monet painting," Giles snapped sarcastically, and Spike smirked despite himself as Angel inquired,

"Where are they?"

"About two miles away from you, actually," Giles said slowly. "I was going to advise Faith and Buffy to go check-"

"Faith's gone for the night," Buffy said matter-of-factly. "I'll go alone."

"Buffy, I REALLY don't think that's wise," Giles began at the same moment Spike said,

"Absolutely NOT."

"I'll go with her," Angel offered quietly, to everyone's surprise.

"I said I'll go alone," Buffy said defiantly.

"The hell you will," all three men said at once, and Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Fiiine. Give me ten minutes to get ready, but seriously- how bad can it be?"

--

_Feedback is appreciated and taken to heart! Thank you to all who left it and all who will in the future. I hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!_

Interested2: Thank you VERY much :) I am a huge Spike fan and promise he will not be neglected as the story continues :-P Thanks for the positive comments!

Kit: Yes, they certainly ARE lovely together and I won't forget it… ;-) Thanks for reading.

AllenPitt: THANK you for your long, thoughtful commentary. Regarding Illyria, it WILL factor into the story (as was probably made evident in this chapter)… as for Spike not telling Buffy about Giles and the Fred thing, repercussions for that are forthcoming, as is an explanation- just sit tight ;-P Connor will continue to be addressed more in future chapters- I have a definite plan for him as well, never fear :) Are you a Spuffy or a Bangel supporter?

CF: The fact that Spike knows Giles refused Angel help back in,"Damage" and "Shells" will indeed come back… never fear :) Thank you for reading!

RabidReject: Thanks for your nice comments :) I did mean for Spike to 'lie' to Buffy… an explaination is forthcoming, just sit tight :) Are you a Bangel or a Spuffy supporter?

Angel sumoritos: THANK you as ALWAYS for the glowing feedback! You're the best!

Javachino: I'm rooting for them too snickers back. And thanks for the link to the story! I'm LOVING it!

Drunknmunky: Hi! As started to be explained in this chapter, Buffy DID look for Angel… a lot is going on on both sides that is leading to bitterness, BELIEVE me. I view her bitchiness as a huge defense mechanism… don't worry, it will get better! Thanks for reading and please continue to tell me what you'd like to see happen!

Emz: I am trying to be realistic about how Buffy would react if Angel had been gone for five years… I would love to discuss this more with you if you'd like to email me- Basically though… I feel like she'd be really, really hurt and upset, and it would take time for them to trust one antoher again… I promise that more Bangel action is coming! Honest! (Next chapter will actually include a sexy nightclub scene, tee hee).


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